Andy Reid confirms Kadarius Toney is on Chiefs roster bubble

The Kansas City Chiefs have hard decisions to make ahead of the deadline for 53-man roster cuts. Several are concentrated at the WR position, where there is significant uncertainty beyond the top four.

Hollywood Brown, Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, and Justin Watson are locked into the top quartet on the WR depth chart. From there, Brett Veach, Andy Reid, and the powers that be will need to weigh various pros and cons, from more experienced options to those who performed better in limited preseason action.

Among those on the roster bubble is former first-round pick Kadarius Toney, who earned more than his share of jeers a season ago. The Chiefs' wideout registered 27 receptions in 13 regular season games and dropped five passes. Toney's butterfingers were an ongoing source of frustration for Chiefs fans as Patrick Mahomes tried, often in vain, to unlock a wayward WR room.

It all clicked into place once the playoffs started, so we don't really talk about how volatile the Chiefs' offense was during the 2023 campaign. The same WR issues from last season will persist in 2024, though. Hollywood Brown and Xavier Worthy help, but the latter is a completely unproven rookie. Brown has major speed, but he's not exactly a traditional No. 1 wideout. Rashee Rice is probably the Chiefs' best pass-catcher outside of Travis Kelce, and we're just counting down the days until his inevitable suspension for an offseason driving accident.

So, we circle back to Toney. His Chiefs status is in serious peril. Andy Reid admitted much to reporters after Thursday's loss to the Chicago Bears.

Andy Reid places Kadarius Toney squarely on the Chiefs roster bubble

In 17 snaps against the Bears, Toney caught two of three targets for 26 yards and returned a punt for 16 yards. Reid was blunt and honest in his assessment of Toney's postgame outlook. From NFL.com's Kevin Patra:

"We went through last year with [Kadarius Toney], so we kind of know who he is. He is a talented kid. He's in a battle to make the team and all that bit. We've never questioned the talent there at all, it's just him staying healthy was the main thing."

Toney missed four games in the 2023 campaign and has dealt with injuries in training camp, too. Health is definitely a concern, although I am not sure it's the primary concern for Chiefs fans. The simple truth is that Toney has never looked the part since his arrival in Kansas City. He has all this supposed talent, he was a first-round pick in 2021, but Toney has not put the pieces together.

Speed means very little at WR if you don't have soft hands and sharp footwork. Toney practiced briefly at RB during camp, but the Chiefs never conducted that particular experiment in their preseason games. If there was any hope of Toney cracking the roster as part of the backfield, we would have seen it by now. Instead, he's squarely in the WR mix, battling Skyy Moore, Mecole Hardman, and others for second-team roles.

After listening to Andy Reid find creative ways to defend Toney on a weekly basis last season, it's telling to hear him outright admit Toney's bubble status. It comes in the form of a compliment — that Toney has battled hard to make the team — but Reid's comment doesn't exactly stand out for its optimism. It sounds more like a kind and supportive way to frame Toney's forthcoming departure.

If the Chiefs do decide to part ways, Toney probably gets another chance with a less established team. He's 25 with all these prototypical athletic tools — some front office is going to take the plunge. Toney's special teams utility is another mark in his favor.

We can't close to book on Toney's Chiefs tenure yet, but it may not be much longer.